Podcast: What does it take to lead a business in a fragile or conflict-affected state?

Two billion people are living in countries affected by fragility, conflict and violence. Fragility and conflict have a huge impact on poverty, so in these countries businesses are particularly important because of the economic and job opportunities they can create.

Growing a successful company in such a country is easier said than done, however. In this podcast, we aim to understand the challenges facing people trying to build businesses in these extremely challenging environments and find out how they are overcoming them.

We hear from Teza Bila, the Managing Director of Congo Invest Consulting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Michael Mithika, who's leading the World Vision Fund, which covers fragile states such as the DRC and Azerbaijan.

We also speak to Thierry Artaud, the Managing Director of M-Birr a mobile payment platform in Ethiopia - a country no longer classified as a fragile but one that still faces its fair share of challenges.

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CDC Group plc is the UK’s development finance institution. Wholly owned by the UK Government, it invests in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia with the aim of supporting economic development to create jobs. CDC takes a flexible approach and provides capital in all its forms, including equity, debt, mezzanine and guarantees, to meet businesses’ needs and achieve development impact. CDC has net assets of £4.8bn.